Government Dairy Policy, Plus Marketing Programs Best Approach

By Brad Rach

Gene Paul served us wonderfully as our legislative coordinator. Now that he has retired, we need to find ways to continue and build upon the work he did for our organization.

Looking ahead, government policy will continue to be an important part of maintaining a healthy dairy economy. But Washington has become so slow and unproductive that we must also have strong market-based programs if we are to make the best of challenges that are sure to come our way.

Runaway concentration at all levels of our industry, shrinking numbers of family farmers, bird flu in cattle, plant-based beverages, a policy shift toward factors affecting climate change—the list goes on.

National Farmers is a major player in the U.S. dairy industry. We are a top 20 cooperative in terms of volume and the second largest U.S. dairy cooperative in terms of membership.

We are not saddled by overhead for outdated processing plants. And, last but hardly least, we have a professional staff that any dairy organization in the country would be proud to have.

As you can see, we are in a good position to help build a dairy economy that will be more favorable to family farmers. How can we do this? We’re off to a great start with our win-win partnership approach for other cooperatives. That, I am sure, will lead us in even more exciting and productive directions.

As we move forward, let’s not lose sight of why we are encouraging partnerships throughout the dairy industry. As always, our staff works day in and day out to find the best homes for your milk.
But that is not the whole story. We also need to create even better opportunities for tomorrow. Strong partnerships help us do just that.